Defensive kind of day

The Truman State defense controlled play throughout much of the annual purple and white game

Ryan Ronan @RyanRonan_KDE

KIRKSVILLE - Truman held their annual purple and white game on Saturday, which brought an end to the Bulldogs spring practice.

The Truman defense was the story early on as they Bulldog defensive line made plays behind the line of scrimmage, and got pressure on the quarterbacks that forced a handful of turnovers.

“Football coaches from all different levels have a saying, sometimes you just have to play harder that the other guy, sometimes you think your playing hard but you’re really not. We have tried to instill that into these guys during seven on seven and to really look a their effort,” said Truman State head coach Greg Nesbitt.

It took sometime but the Bulldog offense got things moving mostly behind the play of freshman quarterbacks Bo Bell and Devonte Black.

“Bo has had two fantastic scrimmages for us. He isn’t a whole lot to look at, but he can acutely run and make plays outside the pocket and throw the bal on the run,” said Nesbitt.

Although the Bulldogs had two-freshman play well there isn’t a decision to be made at the quarterback position.

“Conrad Schottel is our starter and it’s not an open competition, he has to play well just like all of our players do,” said Nesbitt.

The Bulldogs ended their spring practice and Truman didn’t suffer any major injuries, which always the goal of a team during the spring. Now that the spring is over the Bulldogs are now entering the summer, which can be a difficult time for college athletes.

“We are entering the third quarter in coach speak. Which I believe is the most important phase, there isn’t a lot of coaching that can take place due to NCAA rules. This means the players are pretty much on their own to work out and stay in shape,” said Nesbitt.

Truman will open their inaugural season in the GLVC when they host former conference rival Southwest Baptist on September 7.